From the Flip Side
by pokeninja6600
Summary: N and Emerald are siblings; almost twins. They can understand Pokemon and keep mostly to themselves but they work for a crime syndicate; Team Plasma. They're the evil ones with ideals that should never come true. Right? Maybe. But, could that be wrong? Every coin has two sides. And even the darkest clouds can have a silver lining. Who could consider them evil? Could you?
1. Chapter 1

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! Yeah, I changed the entire concept of this story...I didn't like it so I changed it! But I knew that some of you liked Emerald so I did include her.**

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**Emerald's POV**

I tossed my emerald green hair back from my face. I don't like it in my eyes and it was starting to irritate me.

"Mhm. A Tepig, Emerald? I'd've thought you more the Snivy type, in all honesty." I glanced up at my half brother, N. Then I looked down at my little Tepig. It smiled, wide and open and trusting, at me. That trusting innocence shot a pang through my heart. This was the kind of delicate creature that humans were abusing by battling with them.

I snapped out of my dream state and realized that N was involved in a deep conversation with my Tepig. I rolled my eyes before calling his attention back to the current task at hand.

"Sire, the speech?" I asked, attempting to draw his attention to Ghetsis' speech. N merely looked up at me with child-like eyes.

"But Emerald, it's not like I have not heard it exactly," he did a quick calculation in his head, "eighty five and an eighth times." he stated, disinterested. I blinked several times to process how quickly he did mathematics then took a few seconds to comprehend what he had said.

"Eighty five and an _eighth_, N?" I asked, confused at either the fact that he calculated wrong or that one could make an eighth of a speech. N nodded slightly, "A month, on average." His mind was apparently off the situation and focusing on how long it would take us to reach Accumula at this rate. I waited for him to explain before realizing he wouldn't.

"Can you explain your calculation, Sire?" I asked curiously. He looked back up at me and our eyes locked. He grinned widely; my half brother loved math more than anything except Pokemon. Sometimes, he'd use Pokemon to do math. It got rather confusing and dull after a while to me but then again, my talent lies in public speech. N; not so much.

"I have heard Ghetsis' speech about Pokemon liberation at lunch, dinner and on an off day, breakfast, every single day. In the month of March, that's 31 days. Times thirty-one by two and you have sixty-two. Now, add breakfast for, say, 5 out of every seven days (for a week, to make it easy); that's twenty-three. Add all of it together and you have 85 times." N sat back in his helicopter seat and grinned at me.

Myself, having never been all that good at math, had to scribble that down on a notepad and found his calculations to be true. Then I raised an eyebrow.

"What about the other eighth, Sire?"

N frowned. "Please don't call me that, Emerald. It sounds so stuffy and I want times with you to be unlike with other grunts, taking into consideration our blood relation."

I clapped my hand over his mouth. "Ssh! My father doesn't know that yet! And frankly, I don't want him to. This is the best job I've ever had, N. I don't want to lose it!" I hissed. He had tensed up and had a scared look in his eyes. I removed my hand and sat back in my seat, my teeth set on edge, ready to flip out on anything that crossed my path.

Soon after, I realized what I had done. I closed my eyes and grimaced. If that _ever _got way to Ghetsis...I shuddered to think about it. I turned my attention to my half brother.

"I'm sorry N. I didn't mean to scare you. Now, what were you saying about that extra eighth?" I asked.

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**Man, this is SHORT! I'm sorry! Well, I had to get my thought process on this story and so this stupid little filler came out amongst the rubble! The next one'll be better, I PROMISE!**


	2. Chapter 2: Two Plus Two Equals Trouble

**Me: Why, hello my lovely readers!**

**Emerald: -_- No...Just, just no, Ninja...**

**Me: *pouts* We don't own Pokémon...Well, I don't. Emerald owns a Tepig...**

**Emerald: *sticks out tongue at me***

**Me: NOPE READ NOW!**

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**Emerald's POV**

The helicopter dropped us off in Accumula Town, to my immediate displeasure.

"Why are we here again?" I asked N through gritted teeth. Accumula Town was crowded at the moment and there were no potential battle mates. My eye twitched at the closeness and majority of people. N gave me a look and I tightened the bandana I wore around my face to cover my mouth and nose.

"We're here because Father demanded we be here to see his speech," He gave me an odd look. I blinked several times before checking my words and saying, "Didn't Father ever teach you that it's impolite to stare?"

N looked taken aback. "I...I'm sorry. It just astounds me how you can wear such apparel in 85 degree weather. I didn't mean to be rude, Emerald." He said it with such sincerity and innocence that I almost laughed.

"You're forgiven, brother." I said, trying my hardest not to laugh. N had been brought up with manners, I'd give him that. Still naïve in the harsh ways of the world; that's why I was my brother's companion. I was well-versed in the ways of the world.

"So, why _do_ you wear that?" N asked, drawing my attention back to reality. I looked at what I was wearing. White capris and greenish sandals, along with my gray shirt and flaming red bandana that I wore around my face, the only colorful apparel I had, not counting my four rainbow bracelets (two for each arm). N and I had only hair style and length in common. We both had rough edged, soft hair down to our backs. Which, for me, wasn't all that uncommon. But...N's a guy.

He has tea green hair and blue-gray eyes. I have emerald-green hair (ironic, isn't it...) and...Oh, let's just get it over with. Red eyes. Yup. I have red eyes with emerald-green hair and light-reflective colored clothing. I'm quite uncommon, you see.

Up on a stage-like platform, my father prepared for his speech. Outfitted in a coat that looks remarkably Snuggie-like, a red eyepiece to cover a peculiar scar and a singular piercing red eye, my father draws attention to himself even when he doesn't want it. N and I walked quickly to the front of the line, both of us making brief seconds of eye contact with Ghetsis.

Ghetsis had several grunts surrounding him, one of which I recognized as a close friend and fellow advisor of the Harmonias, Matt. I caught his eye and he winked at me. I ran my tongue along the rough edges of my teeth, waiting for the ceremony to start. I was anxious to get out of this crowded place. N's Zorua hopped onto my shoulder and giggled. I smiled at him and he hopped into my hair, hiding from the world, probably to nap. My own baby Zorua was asleep in my arms; she was purring softly, almost like a cat and she was warm in the crook of my arm.

Ghetsis cleared his throat. "My name is Ghetsis, and I am here today to talk to you about Pokémon liberation."

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After the speech, N and I headed towards Route 2. Then I overheard a girl speaking to her male companion.

"That's just plain awful. No one can say what he's saying is true. Pokemon and humans work together; we emphasize each others' strengths." the boy, no older than sixteen by the looks of him, stated loudly. N immediately turned around and glanced at me for guidance.

"Do whatever it takes, my King. I will always back you up. As a loyal servant and as a sister." I said. Often times, N and I found we had the same thoughts; odd, seeing as we had no real blood relations. But I was a ninja; trained, loved and raised for the most part by the Shadow Triad themselves. I blended into the background, awaiting my King brother's decision.

He walked up to the girl and her companion. She had a Snivy standing by her side, and it and the boy's Tepig seemed to be arguing.

_"Yes Ignis, I _do_ think I am a better battler than you. I defeated both you and your Trainer and we made quite the mess of White's room in the process." _the Snivy said haughtily. The Tepig looked at her with pleading eyes.

_"But Saxifrage...I ended up beating both Black's Oshawott and Bianca's Oshawott! Doesn't that make me a kinda good battler too?" _It asked, tilting its head to the side.

"Your Pokemon...Just now, what was that?" N said. Both the boy and the girl turned round, looking confused.

"Slow down. You talk way too fast. What did you just say about Pokemon...speaking?" the boy asked. N's face fell.

"Yes, they're . You two can't hear them either then. A shame. My name is N" he said, turning his head slightly to the side to look at me. I blinked at him in affirmation. It was a go-ahead. Not like we were going anywhere anyways. He smiled slightly from underneath his cap and turned back to the girl.

The boy, now that I had a closer look at him, was a nerdy, goody-goody type with glasses and a bit of hair that stood up on his head. I took all my willpower to keep myself from laughing. He cleared his throat and said, "I'm Cheren and this is my friend, White. Our other friend, Bianca, is off with White's twin brother, Black, for some supply shopping. We're all on a journey issued by Professor Juniper: to complete the Pokedex." he said proudly, his chin held high. I bit my tongue. That was a sensitive issue for my brother.

"So, you two are completing the Pokedex, eh? Over the course of your journey, you'll confine many, many Pokémon to Poke Balls. I'm a Trainer too, but I can't help wondering...Are Pokémon really happy that way?" His unfocused gaze said he wasn't here right at that moment. No, my brother was thinking far ahead, into a future that he determined, in which all Pokemon were free. A chill ran down my spine and I hugged Zorua close.

His gaze snapped to the girl standing in front of him. She had brown hair pulled up into a messy ponytail with two disobedient strands of hair falling down from the ponytail. She had some of it covered with a hat that was pink and black, to match her shoes. White's thin body was framed with a tight white shirt and a brown jacket overtop it and ripped shorts that to me looked ready for only the trash.

She stared my brother in the face, unperturbed by the fact that he was several feet taller than her and she had to look up at him. I felt a small smile crawl to my lips. This girl stood firm in the face of her adversary; a green haired, deluded man child. She had spirit. I could almost feel N's smile at this fact. His hand fell to a Poke Ball on his belt.

"So, White, was it? Let me hear your Pokemon's voice again!" N said, unclasping his Purrloin's Poke Ball, a smile on his face. The girl's face brightened with competitive spirit.

"You're on, N! Wanna go, Saxifrage?" she asked the Snivy sprawled out at her feet. It got up (t without a brief rolling of eyes) and stood in front of this small girl, ready for action.

"GO!" they called simultaneously. And so it began: the best and worst year of my life.

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**Me: None of you actually thought I was going to do the battle scene in this one, did you? Well, all I can say about the dialogue and whatnot is that I used Bulbapedia to stay true to their actual conversation and the first part of Ghetsis' speech.**

**Emerald: *eye roll* You just HAD to add Matt, didn't you! *glare***

**Me: *giggles nervously* You're not the violent one...You know that...**

**Emerald: True. BUT STILL! YOU HAD TO ADD MATT!**

**Me: Annnnnd ...THAT'S ALL FOLKS! I'm really sorry if I' not quite living up to your expectations for this one because Roma's Story and Chili, Cress and Cilan are so amazing. If that's so, say what you think could be better in that little review box right down there. Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3: Black and White

**Me: I can't keep you guys in anticipation for this long so no AN. Ima try my hand at N's POV at first so I'm sorry if it sucks.**

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**N's POV**

"GO!" we shouted simultaneously. I threw Purrloin's Poke Ball high into the air, watching as a white light beamed down and shifted until it disappeared, revealing my friend.

"Purrloin, Growl!" I called out, starting the battle in my favor. Purrloin walked up to the Snivy, wagging his tail slowly, almost bored. Then, when within a few feet of the wary Snivy, it opened it mouth, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth and growled, _"I will win, Snivy. Be very afraid." _The Snivy merely blinked. Then, the ghost of a smirk formed on her face.

"Saxifrage, Tackle!" White called. The Snivy hissed, _"Not likely, kitty!"_ and threw itself at Purrloin.

"Purrloin, jump." I said calmly. Purrloin leaped into the air, right as Snivy would have rammed into him. He dove down with a Scratch attack at the ready and scratched the snake Pokémon, opening up another wound. I looked away from the pained Snivy to look at the girl instead. She had a determined look on her face; I admired that.

"Saxifrage, c'mon! You can do it! Leer!" the girl said.

_"If you say so..." _the Snivy said, casting a doubtful glance at her. But it focused it cutting eyes on Purrloin and he froze, scared by the frightening look Snivy was giving him. It was full of hate. My heart broke to see Pokémon looking at each other with such human-like emotions so clear on their faces. I cast a glance to the trees bordering the town and caught Emerald from the corner of my eye. Her face showed no emotion, as usual, but she held her baby Zorua very close, bent over her a little as a mother would a child.

"Now Saxifrage, Vine Whip!" White called, pointing at my frightened friend. I froze as well; this Snivy shouldn't know that move yet! The Snivy was still Leering at my friend when, suddenly, it burst into motion.

_"How! Dare! You! Touch! Me! Kitty!" _it shouted, lashing out with it vines once for every word. Purrloin hissed and recoiled each time the vines struck it, looking less and less energetic after each hit opened a wound. Their blood was discoloring the tile of the ground and I called one last attack for Purrloin.

"Scratch, please!" Purrloin ran full throttle at Snivy but the grass snake used its vines to launch itself into the air, causing my Pokémon to miss. White looked pleased and looked up at her Snivy happily. The snake had a sneer on its face but its eyes shone brightly; it was happy as well.

"Tackle, Saxifrage!" White called. The Snivy dropped all 18 pounds of itself onto my precious friend's back. Predictably, when the Snivy got up, we all saw Purrloin down and out on the ground. The Snivy looked at me with a cold gleam in its eye. _"I win."_

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**Emerald's POV**

I could see N shaking a little as he returned his fainted Pokémon. He kept his eyes on the girl, who was dancing around with the other boy, Cheren. I had seen that look, the one of complete and utter confusion, only once before on my half-brother's face. When I told him of our technical relation. He whispered something, probably praise, to Purrloin and then focused on White.

"As long as Pokémon are confined in Poké Balls... Pokémon will never become perfect beings. I have to change the world for Pokémon, because they're my friends." N said, looking at the ground. Then, he looked at the girl and they locked eyes. They stayed like that for maybe a minute before a brown haired, brown-eyed boy rushed into view, carrying lots of supplies.

"White, Cheren! Look what we got!" he shouted, racing over to the girl. She looked away from N to focus on this boy, who I assumed was her twin. He skidded to a halt right beside her and held out the items.

"See? There are lots of Potions and some Poke Balls too, since Bianca says you can never be too prepared and look, I got this thing at a special price, it's like some sort of something. The cashier wouldn't tell me what it was but it's really cool, isn't it really cool, it's really shiny and everything, I think it's a Poke Ball, look at it, White loo-" the boy said quickly, his mouth moving faster than his feet had been as his eyes looked over the vast amount of items in his arms. The girl rolled her eyes and put her hands on his shoulders.

"BLAAAACCKKKK!" she shouted, shaking his shoulders hard. The boy looked up from the supplies at his sister, his talking ceased for the moment.

"Yeah?" he asked. She breathed a sigh of relief and stepped back, brushing off her hands. She gave him a look.

"You left Bianca at the store, didn't you?" she sighed, head hung and a bead of sweat on her forehead. He nodded, affirming that.

"But look what I got, White! I got STUFF!" he shouted, glee dancing in his eyes. I raised an eyebrow, wondering if the boy was mentally sound or not. He looked fairly normal, with a red and black hat, a blue and white jacket covering a black t-shirt, black jeans tucked into his shoes and a messenger bag that was normal for most boy travelers. I noticed that while his sister had only one Poke Ball for her Snivy, the boy had two, containing two Pokémon unknown to me.

All this time, N had just stood there, looking slightly confused. Now, he cast a glance at me and I grinned. He looked back at the boy, who was now going through a lecture from the other male that they called Cheren. N cleared his throat and all of them looked at him. He looked at White, a smile playing on his lips and pointed at Black.

"So, is this your boyfriend?" he asked. Cheren fell over anime style and White turned a laugh into a cough. She shook her head.

"Ah, no, this is my twin brother, Black. Black, this is N." White clarified. N stared at Black, probably taking in the details. Under any normal circumstances, the boy would be pretty scared right about now. But this Black boy was clearly not normal; he seemed completely oblivious to the fact that this was not normal.

"Alright then," N said awkwardly. I felt this was a good time to interfere so I walked over to my brother. I didn't look at the travelers, instead grabbing N's arm.

"Come. He sent me to retrieve you. He promised waffles." I said gruffly, careful to not use Ghetsis' name just in case. I dragged him out of their eyesight, starting us on our way to Route 2.

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"But Emerald! Why can't I have friends?" he whined like a small child. It was hours later and we were trudging through a cool and tree-covered Route 2, to my pleasure. The trees provided shade from a beating sun and fresh air to breathe, which I was happy for. The roughly hewn path we were following was dappled with shade and I made sure to stay in the dark spots. I shrugged in answer.

"Ghetsis said no." I replied shortly. N sighed.

"Can we at least rest?" he asked. I looked back at my brother, who, despite his longer legs and better stamina, was lagging very far behind with his Zorua trudging tiredly by his side. I looked up, beyond the shade of the trees, to judge the sun's place in the sky. It was getting lower in the sky from the amount of time we'd been travelling. I sighed and looked down for my Zorua. She was walking beside me, jumping and doing tricks, all while happily calling out her name. I turned my gaze back to N, who took off his hat and fanned himself with it. I smiled at the sight of him. He looked at me with pleading in his eyes.

"Sure, N. Let's just get on that hill and then we can rest. How's that sound?" I asked. _"Just sounds like more walking to me." _N's Zorua muttered. N, however, agreed with relief that we would be resting soon. I chuckled and resumed walking, whistling a little as we made it closer to camp. We ran into hardly any Pokémon, except when N veered off the path to get a shiny object laying in the grass (it turned out to be just a Potion, but he used it on Purrloin after we revived him) and I battled with a wild Lillipup.

After a rather short battle between Feu (my Tepig) and the Lillipup, the Lillipup decided she wanted to join my team. I laid out a Poke Ball and she happily touched her nose to it, allowing herself to be caught. I let her loose from her ball almost as soon as I had caught her. I named her Lillia and to this day, I have never once regretted catching her or allowed her to ever be put in a Box. She has been very loyal, an excellent battler and well worth her weight in gold and silver. Aah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

Lillia, Feu and both N's and my Zorua accompanied us (walking out of their Poke Balls) to our predestined camp site, keeping up a constant conversation. It was on a rocky plateau and we were well out of sight from any other travelers that may want a battle so we could get a good night's sleep. I laid down on the ground, flattening out the grass. I closed my eyes and put my hands behind my head. Within seconds, I felt the body warmth of my three Pokémon joining me on the ground.

I opened one eye and saw N laid out on his back about a yard from me, his Zorua laying on his stomach. I assumed his Purrloin was on the side I couldn't see and relaxed. He looked more at home right here than he had ever at the Plasma Castle. He said he liked outside better because there couldn't always be relentless supervision and I tended to agree with him. No supervision trumped comfy castle every time. I smiled at how relaxed he looked. I closed my eye again and fell asleep easily, knowing that my charge and brother was safe.

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**Me: So, we meet White and Black.**

**Emerald: And Cheren.**

**Me: Oh yeah, and Cheren. But he won't be as essential to the plot line as Black and White will. Wait, you know that, you've read ahead! *smacks her with newspaper***

**Emerald: *unamused face* I'm not a disobedient Lillipup, Ninja.**

**Me: Oh. Well, for you who are wondering where Feu's name comes from, it's French for fiery. I Googled it. Again, Bulbapedia helped with the dialogue and descriptions of the characters. From now on, most the names you see for Pokemon will be from experience like Lillia and Saxifrage.**

**Emerald: Whelp, I think that's it. Is it not, author?**

**Me: Yup, that's it. Please review; it makes me a better author!**

**Emerald: She loves and appreciates every review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Striaton City

**Me: Hi everyone! We're out for summer break down here where I live in the States so I'll be writing and reading a LOT more hopefully!**

**Emerald: And that means more ****Chili, Cress and Cilan****, more ****Roma's Story**** and more of this, ****From The Flip Side****!**

**Me: I think I may even be bringing back a couple of my old stories too but maybe not. I think three stories is enough, don't you, Emerald?**

**Emerald: Yeah. You know what else I think? I think we've been postponing the chapter long enough! Okay readers, read and review at the end! Thanks! *smiles***

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**Emerald's POV**

I woke up early, stretching and yawning in the face of a newly rising sun. There was about one thing I had on my agenda that morning: check out Striaton City and make sure it was suitable for my King. I knew I'd be gone for some time checking out this city so I crept silently by N and his sleeping Pokemon to my bag. I got my sunglasses, bandanna and clothes and got dressed quickly into navy blue shorts and a cotton white T-shirt with no shoes or socks and then tied my hair off at the nape of my neck with a pony I had happened to have on hand. I left my Pokemon in N's capable (but sleeping) hands, knowing they would be safe.

As I walked, I tied the bandanna around my face then pulled it down so that it wasn't covering my face but was instead hanging a little bit over the collar of my T-shirt. But as I walked farther and farther from where we stopped to camp that night, I felt heavier and heavier until finally I reached the gate entrance to Striaton City. I stopped and looked back.

"Was I wrong? Could my judgement have possibly been flawed?" I asked myself quietly, my brow creasing in thought and worry. That gave me pause for a second. Then I slowly shook my head. No, he couldn't possibly be in danger. I chose a spot that only my keen eye could see. No one would be able to locate him, hurt him or the Pokemon. I shook off the feeling of foreboding and walked with a quiet confidence into the crowd of Straiton City.

Everyone was talking and milling around with shopping baskets hanging from most of their arms as they chatted good-naturedly with anyone that happened to be near. I tilted my head to the side, not quite sure what to do. Finally, I walked over to where I could get a basket and got one. I wandered around the marketplace for a few minutes before spotting something that piqued my interest. An apple shop.

I walked over to it a little hurriedly, almost as if it would disappear if I didn't get there fast enough. I reached the little shop and suddenly realized that not many people were near it. I breathed a sigh of relief. Not many people means less competition and better chances for haggling. A half-grin slipped on to my face as I slowed my pace, now just sauntering over there.

When I got there, I noticed that there wasn't a shopkeeper. There was absolutely no one guarding these tasty apples from thieving hands. My hand moved instinctively moved towards one of the pretty, red apples and hesitated over it. I jerked it back and clutched it to my chest with my other hand. I could almost hear my inner self groaning, "Oh, but Emerald, they look so gooood!"

"You're such a child!" I snapped at my stomach. But my hand was moving towards the apple again. This time, I let it hesitate over the apple, deciding whether or not to just take it and be off. It's not like I hadn't done it before; several stores and markets had lost profits due to my itchy hands. I stood there, considering for a minute. My hand was itching badly; I wanted to take the apple. What was stopping me? I'd done it before. My fingers had just grazed the apple's surface when I heard a silky voice say, "Y'know, it's not nice to steal."

I straightened, my back rigid and my jaw clenched. My hand moved from the apple to my belt when I realized I'd left the Pokemon with N! I swore silently and reminded myself never to get so distracted that I wasn't keeping a sharp eye on my surroundings. I mustered up a look of innocence, looking over my tinted sunglasses and widening my eyes then putting a pouty look to my lips so I might be able to get away with it. After a deep breath, I turned around to see-

-a black haired, blue eyed boy staring at me with a cocky half smile on his face. He carried a helicopter pilot's helmet under his right arm and was wearing a mandatory castle-like overgarment. My mouth dropped and I stared openly at him over my sunglasses for a few seconds. He chuckled.

"Keep your mouth open like that, you'll catch Flygons," he paused for a second, "Greenie." he said, smiling at me. I shook my head quickly, bringing me back to Earth and to this handsome boy in front of me. I smiled and mimed flipping my hair behind my back.

"Just because I have _fabulous _hair doesn't mean you have to be jealous," I paused for the same amount of time, "Matty." I said, a devilishly sweet look on my face. He flinched at the nickname. He put a hand over his chest like he'd been shot and staggered backwards.

"Ah, she got me!" he said, pretending to be hurt. I giggled then stopped myself and shook my head again. He stopped and looked at me.

"Oh, I see. No time for play now that she's a big girl, eh?" he said. Though his tone was teasing, there was a genuine look of hurt in his eyes. I smiled.

"No, but all this time with N has sapped me of my sense of humor," I responded. Matt smiled and raised an eyebrow.

"I have to spend the same amount of time you spend with N with Ghetsis." he said dryly. I clucked my tongue, thinking of my father and of how much no one knew about me.

Snapping me out of my little trance, Matt said, "So, I assume you got lost looking for the Gym?" I grimaced.

"I prefer the term 'misdirected', personally." I mumbled, looking at the ground. Matt nodded seriously.

"Of course you do, Emerald. Of course. Anyways, do you need a guide?" I looked up from the ground into his bright blue eyes and tilted my head to the left slightly.

"You'd do that for me?" I asked curiously. Matt's eyes widened and got a panicky look to them.

"I, uh, well, more for the King because he needs to k now where to go and, um, yeah. For the King." he chuckled nervously. I bit my tongue to keep from swearing out loud. I nodded and smiled just a little bit but all humor in the situation had just evaporated. We both stood a little awkwardly for a minute.

"Hey, are you two gonna come to the Gym by yourselves, or do I have to lead you there?" a loud voice came from the left. We both looked and I saw a teenage-looking boy shove his way through the crowd. Once he got to us, I could tell his hair was bright red and styled weirdly, looking almost like a fire on his head. I also noticed that, like mine, his eyes were red. They were shining with excitement and a white-toothed smile lit them up further.

"Seriously though, do you guys know where the Gym is or do I have to lead you two lovebirds all the way there? Cause that's a lot of walking." he said, smile gone, replaced with a more neutral look. I noticed there was a constant mischief surrounding this boy; apparently he was also quite the ladies' man because several teenage girls would wander by and look longingly in his direction. He ignored some and winked at others but ultimately, his attention was on us.

Matt and I had the same reaction to the name: take a half step backwards and deny everything.

"What, no, I don't like him, I mean, I probably could, he's pretty attractive, but I don't, that would just be weird, hahaha no Matt's only a friend," I stuttered quickly as Matt said something of the like. The redhead just rolled his eyes and turned his attention to me.

"So, I see you're a fellow fan of fire!" He pronounced fire like 'fi-yah!' I furrowed my brow and nodded.

"Yeah. How could you tell?" He laughed like it was obvious. Then he looked at me and really studied me.

"Well, there's always the fire red bandanna but really, it's the way you carry yourself. You carry yourself proudly, like you're not afraid to be yourself or stand up for what you believe in. Like a fire on a cold night, you leech a lot of heat from anyone who isn't very close. Generally, you're warm and open to anyone who is close enough. But..." he trailed off a little and a flash of pain crossed his face before he breathed and continued, "If anyone tests you too far and doesn't respect your limits, they get burnt." he said the last part quietly. I bit my tongue again, so hard that tears welled up in my eyes. I blinked them away and took a deep breath before nodding politely.

"Thank you, Mr..." I paused. The boy grinned, lighting up his face.

"Chili's the name, fire's the game." he said, sticking out his hand. I shook it and he pulled me a little closer, whispering in my ear, "At least, that's what I tell the ladies." He let go and wiggled his eyebrows at me. I laughed and looked at Matt, who was suddenly scowling.

"So, how about that Gym tour?" Chili said, clapping his hands together. I looked at Matt, who shook himself out of his little trance. He nodded.

"Yeah, how about it?" I said, putting a little laughter into my voice. I linked arms with Matt (who seemed genuinely surprised) and we followed Chili to my original destination: the Stration Gym.

* * *

**Me: *yawns* Too...Tired...To do...Author's Note...*falls asleep on computer***

**Emerald: Okay, lemme see here...Ninja has notes jotted down somewhere...*looks all around my desk* AHA! *finds them and returns to front of screen* Butter, Plasma gun, lasers- wait...I think that's a grocery list...NEVERMIND!**

**Me: *mumbles* Ask bout the ship name...*snores***

**Emerald: *blushies* NO! I'M NOT D-DOING THAT!**

**Roma: *pops head in door* Ni ja needs your help! Review with what you think Matt and Emerald's ship name should be! Also, she has a poll on her home page! Go check it out! GO!**

**Emerald: HEY! Get outta here, niece! This isn't your story!**

**Roma: *runs down hall* NOOTTT YEEEEETTTTTTT!**


	5. Chapter 5: Battle Time!

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hello!**

**Emerald: Greetings, poke-lovers!**

**Me: 0.o That's actually the name of one of the reviewers...**

**Emerald: 0_o Oh my Arceus, yes it is...**

**Me: Anyways, Striaton City Gym Battles! This'll be Emerald's because she's the only one with an elemental advantage/disadvantage against any of them with Feu.**

**Emerald: DON'T WORRY FEU, WE'LL BE OKAY! *over reacting***

**Me: -_- Okay, you can start reading now...**

* * *

**N's POV**

I woke up with a start. I had been yanked awake by a sudden sense of urgency to make sure everyone was here. Sitting up, I looked hurriedly around. I did a quick head count out loud.

"Feu, Zorua, Zorua, Lillia, Purrloin. Okay. We are all here." I sighed with relief. Then I felt really cold and looked over to where Emerald had fallen asleep. She was gone. I got up quickly and looked for anything that could have suggested where she'd gone. My partners, Emerald's partners and I looked for a couple minutes.

_"I think I found her scent!" _Feu exclaimed. Lillia rushed over and started sniffing around with Feu. Both Zoruas and Purrloin followed but they didn't really sniff about. Emerald's baby Zorua yawned and made a small noise that didn't really mean anything. Then it shook off and looked at me with a pleading in her eyes.

_"Please find my mommy, N." _she purred. I nodded.

"Trust me, I'll do my best." I responded. Lillia howled right at that moment, telling me that she thought, by Emerald's scent trail, that she had recently gone the way towards Striaton City. I smiled at the small dog as she barked all around the spot where she found the scent, insisting that we follow. I looked at Purrloin and Zorua and asked if they wanted to travel free or in a Ball. Purrloin insisted on his Poke Ball and Zorua hopped onto my shoulder.

"Alright then." Then I looked at Emerald's Pokemon and realized that if Emerald's Pokemon were here, they weren't with Emerald. That meant she'd left with no protection! I hunted around the campsite for their Poke Balls, finding both Feu's and Lillia's Poke Balls, but not Zorua's. The baby fox Pokemon hopped onto my other shoulder and rubbed against my cheek happily. Then I realized that never since I had met Emerald (and Zorua had hatched) had I seen her Zorua in a Ball.

I didn't, of course, think much of it; so Zorua didn't like her Poke Ball, lots of Pokemon didn't. I realized with a jolt that Zorua didn't _have _a Poke Ball. Emerald had never actually captured Zorua, only befriended her. I felt a small smile form. 'You go, Emerald.' I thought. Then I returned Feu to his Poke Ball at his request, attached it to my own belt and we headed off.

* * *

**Emerald's POV**

"No Pokémon on you? Not smart," Cilan said, looking me over. I rolled my eyes.

"I know where they are, I just need to go get them. Which I can't do when there are two boys preventing me from leaving!" I said irritatedly, crossing my arms over my chest. I was currently standing in the battle area of the Straiton Gym, glaring at Matt and Chili, who blocked my way to the door.

"I told you, I just left the Pokemon with N. I can go get them, wake him up and we'll get our Gym Badge and be out of your hair." I explained once again, my patience with these boys wearing thin.

"No. You're not going out there without protection. Either I come with you or you don't go anywhere, Emerald." Matt said, crossing his arms just like me, his pilot helmet at his feet. A smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. No one informed me of that option. I rolled my eyes, trying to give the impression that this was not okay with me.I untied my bandana from my neck and retied it around my neck. Meanwhile, Chili had noticed the small smile before my eye roll and a grin broke out on his face.

"Ooh, does Emerald like Matt?" He asked, a taunting tone in his voice and a spark in his eye. I felt heat rising on my neck and cheeks and quickly retied my bandana, hoping no one noticed. Unfortunately, Cilan did.

"I think she does! Good eye, Chili!" He said happily. I made an uncomfortable sound and walked over to Matt.

"C'mon, if you're going to accompany me." I said gruffly, grabbing his arm. He staggered off balance but regained it quickly and followed me out of the Gym. Once outside, I grunted as the sunlight hit my eyes. I stopped on the Gym steps to put my sunglasses back on (they'd been in my pocket) and glanced around for an exit, finding my way back to my King my first objective. I noticed a shock of green hair.

"He shouldn't be here!" I murmured in surprise. I glanced sidelong at Matt, who was looking at me for instruction. I tilted my chin slightly towards the hair, getting him to look at it.

"Think it's him?" He asked in an undertone. I shrugged.

"We're about to find out, boy." was my reply. I sifted through the crowd of people without a word, eyes on the big, green hair. I took off my sunglasses so I could see better and tucked them back into my pocket, despite the glaring sun. Now I could see that the figure had two Zorua with it, one on his shoulder and the other one sticking close to his feet. The one on the ground turned around, its blue eyes registering shock as they landed on me.

"N's Zorua," I breathed, stopping. Consequently, I almost got thrown to the ground because Matt wasn't looking where he was going and ran into me, jolting me forward a few feet. Quick reaction time that I have, I grabbed the neck of his outfit and because he weighs more than me, he stumbled after me but kept me on my feet, as opposed to on the ground.

I turned around to reprimand him and found that we were closer than I expected; we were eye to eye. Matt, being taller than me, was leaning down slightly. I inhaled sharply as red met blue, my eyes met his. We both froze, the surprise evident on both our faces. I felt my face warming as I tried not to think about how blue his eyes were, how his jet black hair fell ever so loosely into his face, what that hair would feel like between my fingers, how I could barely make coherent thoughts anymore, how much I wanted to just-

"Emerald? Matt? Aha, Zorua told me you two were-Oh!" I heard N coming up behind us. I also heard him stop dead in his tracks, probably as in shock as we were. Blushing, I let go of his shirt and looked at the giggling Zorua on the ground.

_"Looks like N isn't the only one with a cruuuuuuuush!" _N's Zorua commented in a sing-songy tone. Its eyes held undeniable joy at teasing me and I felt my face burning.

"S-Shut up, Zorua!" I hissed. I looked up at N, who had his head tilted to the side slightly and his eyebrows scrunched together. I gulped; I was to explain this _how_?! Fortunately, my baby Zorua jumped off N's shoulders, aiming for her mommy (That would be moi).

"Aah!" I shouted, stumbling backwards as my baby rammed her head into my stomach. I caught her, though just barely and hit something with my back. I looked up and saw Matt (G'lord, I'm just a clumsy one, aren't I! XP). I smiled.

"Man Matty, you've gotta stop running into me!" I teased, standing up and facing him with Zorua snuggled down into my arms. He made a face.

"You ran into me this time!" he defended himself. I grinned and glanced over at N, who looked bewildered beyond belief. I chuckled at both boys' naivety.

"Oh, N, can I have my Pokémon back now?" I asked. N nodded distractedly and unclipped two Poke Balls from his belt and handed them to me. I attached them to my own Trainer belt and finally felt balanced again. I clapped my hands together once and looked at the most prominent structure in the city of Striaton: their Gym. I narrowed my eyes playfully, like a cat ready to pounce. Cress would definitely be getting more than he bargained for in this battle.

"Matt, could you show N around the city for a while?" I asked, glancing sideways at my coworker. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"Please? I have some..._business _to attend to," I said, nodding at the Gym. He rolled his eyes but nodded in understanding. He cast a glance to my step brother, who was completely oblivious to this conversation. He weighed his options.

"The things I do for you, Emerald," he sighed heavily. I grinned.

"I know, I know, I owe you one." I said, a touch of sarcasm in my voice. Then I got an idea. I jolted forward and hugged Matt around the middle.

"Aah!" he said, stepping backward with one foot to balance himself. I looked up at him, grinned, then dashed off.

* * *

"Feu, you can do it! Tackle!" I called tensely. My Gym Battle against Cress was going down to the wire. Feu looked at me forlornly. He was in immense pain.

"C'mon Feu, I know you can do it! Believe in yourself, baby!" I called out to him. Feu set its eyes on Panpour, the last of Cress' Pokémon, and snorted out a bit of fire through its nostrils, battle spirit renewed.

"TEEEEEE-PIIIIIIG!" Feu cried as it raced towards Panpour. Cress looked alarmed.

"Panpour, Scratch!" he called out. Panpour charged at my Tepig, his paw glowing with a Scratch at the ready. I was watching and hoping fervently that Tepig would win when I got an idea.

"Alright Tepig, now jump up!" I called.

"Huh?" The triplets had identical expressions of genuine curiosity on their faces. I bit my lip, gripping the bar on the Trainer's Box so hard my knuckles were turning white. My grip loosened when Feu obeyed my command. Panpour looked all around it. All around, that is, except up.

"Ember!" I called out triumphantly.

"Aah!" Cress yelled in surprise. Chili, our referee, gaped in shock, his head tilted back to look at my flying Tepig. Feu obeyed my command without hesitation, breathing in deeply then blowing fire out of its nostrils. The glowing hot embers landed on Panpour and all around it, assuring that Panpour couldn't escape. Feu dropped back down onto a rock and both Cress and I tensed, waiting for the result.

The dust from Ember cleared and we found Panpour laying on the field, swirly eyes to show he was KO'd. I leaped up in the Trainer Box.

"YEES! We did it, Feu! We did it!" I shouted. Tepig called out his name and jumped into my arms. I laughed and spun my fire pig around in circles. I hugged it close and set him down on the floor of the Trainer's Box, smiling gently at him. I dug a Potion out of my huge-bag-that-holds-everything-ever and sprayed Tepig down, restoring his HP.

"You did fantastic, Feu. Want back in or wanna walk?" I asked, holding out his Poke Ball. Feu tapped the Poke Ball with his nose and I recalled him, setting the Ball on my belt. I jumped down off the Trainer's Box to meet the boys and receive my Badge. Zorua climbed into my hair, not wanting to see anyone and I walked over to where the triplets were waiting, an over excited grin on my face.

Cress met me with a small smile, his brothers standing behind him, fighting. I tilted my head to look at them and Cress sighed, waving a hand loosely around in the air.

"Ignore them. I'll deal with them later. As for you, miss, you battle well." he said, gesturing to my Poke Ball belt. I nodded.

"So I've been told. Thank you, water boy," I said, trying to keep my excitement in check until I got back to the Plasma Castle. Cress suddenly scrunched his eyebrows together and frowned.

"What's wrong?" I asked, on alert. He rolled his eyes and looked to his brothers.

"Where's her Badge?" he asked in a commanding voice. They stopped fighting, with Cilan in a headlock by Chili. They both looked up at him.

"Dunno." they responded. I made a face.

"What do you mean you don't know? That's my Badge. Where is it?" I asked, curious as to where they put it. Chili let his brother go and looked at him. Cilan shrugged.

"I thought we each had one." he explained. He pulled one out of his apron-thingy and handed it to me.

"Here. Take this one. It has the same qualifications, allows you passage to the League, all Pokémon to Level 20 obey you, that kind of stuff." he said, handing it to me. I grinned down at it; my first Gym Badge. But I didn't need to conquer the League. I'd admire it a bit, them it would be N's. I didn't have a problem with that. If I ever wanted to challenge the League, I'd go after my Badges later. I thanked the boys and exited the Gym, deep in thought.

* * *

**Me: Whelp, finally done with this stupid chapter. *headdesk***

**Emerald: *snorts* Took ya long enough, author!**

**Me: I know, I know, read and review! Thanks!**


	6. Chapter 6: Dreamyard

**Me (pokeninja6600): Oh, hi there! So, another chapter for all of you lovely people! I don't really have anything else to say, so you can just read!**

**Emerald: Seriously?**

**Me: What?**

**Emerald: You ALWAYS have something to say.**

**Me: Nuh uh.**

**Emerald: Yeah huh.**

**Me: Nuh uh!**

**Emerald: Yeah huh!**

**Roma: *pops head in door* This is gonna take a while ago just go ahead and read. Thanks guys!**

* * *

**Matt's POV**

I sighed. I did_ not_ know what I'd been getting into when I agreed to show N around town. Not only were we not in town, my King had dragged me to a place he called the Dreamyard so he could talk to the Munna that lived there.

"Uh, my Lord?" I had asked when he first led me to this desolate part of Straiton. He looked over his shoulder at me.

"Hm?"

"So, why are we here?" I asked, gesturing slightly to the large, forested space. I saw the ghost of a smile on N's face.

"Well, I've heard that Dreamyard Munna are downright delightful to talk with." He responded evenly. I paused, remembering my King's rare talent. Then I nodded.

"Of course they are." I muttered. N was completely oblivious to my comment, to my relief. I shoved my hands into my pockets as my King walked over to the ruins and looked back at me.

"Well, come on then," he said, nodding towards the ruins. Surprised, I walked over to where he was standing. A small tree blocked the way into the ruins. I sighed; it was a tiny tree, why couldn't we just walk over it? Nevertheless, I called out Buddy, my Patrat.

"Cut," I said, pointing to the small tree. Patrat's claws began to glow with a whiteish light then he hacked at the tree. It fell down and N nodded, pleased. He thanked my Patrat and walked into the ruins to find some Munna.

"Buddy, return." I muttered. I put the Ball back on my belt and looked reluctantly into the ruins. I didn't really want to go in there but if anything happened to N while he was under my supervision, both Ghetsis and Emerald would have my head on a stick. I shuddered at the thought and followed quickly.

About an hour later, my X-transceiver rang. I pulled out the small black and gold phone and answered. To my surprise, Emerald was on the other side, messing around with some buttons, probably trying to get it to work.

"Dammit, how does this stupid sonova-" she started. Then she looked at the screen.

"Ah! I've been looking all over Straiton for you! Where are you? Where's N?" She asked so quickly it took me a few seconds to comprehend what she said.

"Uh, he said it was called the Dreamyard, I think." I said once I realized she'd asked where we were. She looked a little taken aback.

"You're at the Dreamyard?" She asked, suddenly quiet. I nodded, puzzled by her reaction to the name of the place. She shook her head.

"Nevermind that. Where's N?" She asked, her eyes flicking around, checking out the background of the call. I looked around and saw him a little ways off, speaking to a Munna.

"He's right here, Emerald. Don't worry." I turned the phone so she could see him.

"Don't worry, hm..." Emerald murmured, a far away look in her eyes. She closed her eyes and sighed then glanced back to me. She gave me a weak smile.

"Sorry. Um, I'll meet you guys in the Dreamyard in a couple. Stay safe, 'kay." The call ended. I just stood there, not sure what I'd just seen. Emerald, possibly the strongest girl I'd ever meet; I'd just seen her experience a vulnerable moment. I wondered silently how many people could truthfully say that.

I looked over at my King. He and Emerald quickly grew close after she'd been recruited and asked to talk to N. Rumor around the castle has it that they're long lost siblings who have finally found each other. What with their both being able to talk to Pokemon and the same hair color, the rumor probably wouldn't be a stretch.

I heard a small yip that was quickly shushed. I looked around and saw a small Lillipup disappear into the trees, almost like magic. Something clicked with that word. The Shadow Triad seemed almost magical.

"Emerald?"

"Very good. But you're looking the wrong way." I felt breath on my neck and whirled around with a shout. Green hair, red eyes and a red bandana tied around her neck. Emerald.

"Geez! One of these days, I swear you're gonna give me a heart attack!" I said, a hand over my heart. She chuckled lightly and walked over to my side.

"Hm, maybe I should be calling you Shortie instead of Greenie, eh?" I said, cracking a smile. She seemed to ignore me, grabbing a Poke Ball from her waist-slung Trainer Belt **(A/N: That's more than likely _not _the actual name of it but what he's talking about is that thing Trainers and such wear to hold Poke Balls.)**. She released the Pokemon from inside the Ball. Her Tepig; Feu, if I remember right.

"Say it again." She said shortly. I raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe I should start calling you Shortie instead of Greenie?" I said hesitantly. She nodded down at Feu. The Tepig blew fire out of its nostrils in a typical Tepiggy gesture. Emerald looked up at me then motioned to Tepig.

"My thoughts exactly, Feu." I was about to retaliate when N came bounding up to us, an indistinguishable pink thing on his head.

"Look Emerald! She likes me!" N called, waving. Emerald gasped.

"N! Get that Munna off your head! You don't know where it's been!" She shouted, gesturing around wildly. She almost slapped me but I grabbed her wrist in a desperate "please don't hit me". She froze. Slowly, she turned her head a little to look at me. Her mouth was open slightly and her eyes flicking from my face to her wrist. I let go and took a quick step back in case she decided to smack me.

Her arm dropped to her side and she just stared at me for a while before shaking her head and focusing back on N.

"N?"

"Yes, Emerald?"

"Why do you have a Munna on your head?" Emerald asked calmly. N's face broke into a grin.

"It likes me! She says she thinks my dreams would be tasty!" He said. Emerald smacked a hand to her forehead.

"I am not catching you a Munna, N." She deadpanned. N frowned and scrunched his eyebrows together.

"I never said anything about catching it. Can't it just stay out here on my head?" N asked. She didn't answer so he took it as a no.

"How about it staying on_ your_ head then?" Emerald's gaze snapped up.

"NO. I am NOT having a Munna on MY head!" She shouted. N looked about as startled as I felt at her outburst.

"Why not, Emerald?" He asked, tilting his head to the side. The Munna floated of his head and glared at him. He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Sorry Munna. But why not?" He asked, averting his attention back to his green hair guard. She winced as the thing floated over to her. A couple more floated over and smiled at her. She made an uncomfortable sound and backed up.

Then, all of a sudden, one of the Munna jerked forward and attached itself to her head! Emerald screamed and started jumping up and down, batting at the Munna.

"AAAH! GETITOFFGETITOFFGETITOOOOOFFFFFF!" She screamed. N and I exchanged a look.

"Emerald, be careful. You might hurt the Munna." I said with an amused expression. She glared at me.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you!" She growled. I grinned and held my forefinger and thumb a couple inches apart.

"Little bit." I said, grinning. She smacked the Munna off her head roughly and crossed her arms.

"That wasn't funny." She said unhappily. The Munna said something to her, drawing her into conversation. I looked at N, who was listening to them. Munna must have said something that got on Emerald's nerves because her jaw tightened slightly and her eyes narrowed. In retrospect, she looked remarkably like Ghetsis.

N chuckled and looked over at me with a smirk. "Psychic types are not Emerald's forte."

"I can see that," I mused. We both looked back at Emerald. But now, the Munna was resting on the ground and Emerald was digging around in her bag. The pink floaty Pokemon was just staring at her as she rummaged around in her bag, cursing quietly on occasion.

Finally, after a couple minutes worth of that awkward silence, she pulled out a Poke Ball and laid out gently on the ground. The Munna cried out happily and pressed the button. It was recalled into the ball.

Emerald picked up the ball, whispered something to the Pokemon inside then smiled. She looked up at us. A smile still graced the features of her face. She was happy and, inexplicably, I was too.

"I caught a Munna." She whispered, her hand shaking slightly as she looked down at the ball.

"Now you have Feu, Lillia, Zorua and..." N talked of, waiting for Emerald to fill in the name.

"His name is Tekina (teh-key-nuh)." She offered. He smiled.

"Well, let's go then! We have more friends to meet!" He said, eye twinkling. Emerald nodded.

"You go ahead, N. We'll met you at the fountain at the start of Route 3, kay?" She said. He grinned and dashed. Emerald placed Munna's ball on her belt and motioned towards the exit. We walked quietly for a minute or so before I looked down at Emerald, quizzical.

"What'd you do that for?" She chuckled and her eyes flicked up to meet mine.

"If I accompanied him _everywhere, _he'd grow impatient with the constant supervision, thus he'd be more likely to wander off and get hurt or get into trouble. If I let him do some stuff by himself, he'll be less likely to need to do some things by himself until the time comes." She explained.

"Oh. You could be a psychiatrist, Emerald! You're good at this!" I commented. She blushed.

"Th-thanks. But I don't think so. I'm better at analyzing behavior than fixing it, unfortunately." She said sheepishly. I smiled and ruffled her hair (I think I'm the only that can do that without getting hit).

"I don't think that's true. I think if you got out and around the castle more instead of isolating yourself in your room, you'd find you're better with people than you think. Not to mention, most of the guys would grovel at your feet if they had the kind of relationship we have." I said. She started at the ground in silence for awhile.

"What is our relationship, Matt?"

"Well, you're my friend, right Emerald?" I looked down at her curiously.

"Umm...yeah, but..." She stopped and looked at me with a small frown. Our eyes met. Her eyes started with mine for what seemed like an eternity; it was almost like she was having into my soul. She dropped her gaze and shook her head.

"N-Nevermind." She said quickly. I knew instinctively that something was wrong. But, not knowing how to fix it, I left the subject alone for the moment.

We walked the rest of the way making small talk, and I hit on something interesting.

"Why am I afraid of Munna..." She echoed.

"Well, I'm more scared of their powers than anything else. Shadow found me in the Dreamyard, six years ago. All I remember is that I stumbled into the Dreamyard on accident. I was trying to find a Pokemon and some people on town directed me there. I made it there but the Munna were mad. The main one said something about hating people and having to destroy any person that came across there; man, woman or child." She shivered involuntarily.

"I don't remember anything after that. Only that I woke up in a pool of my blood and a lot of shattered glass. Oh, and my hair had been cut by the glass. I remember it looking weird. But all I remember after that is one of the Shadows picked me up and brought me to a camp; a Plasma camp." She looked up at me. commeI shifted on my feet uncomfortably.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing." I raised an eyebrow. Nothing? I doubt it.

"I wanna know!" She smiled teasingly at me.

"It's not important. You don't need to know, so I'm not going to be the one to tell you." I made a face.

"Besides, N should be right around here." Emerald said, stopping and looking around. I looked around too.

"Yep, there he is. Hey N!" She hollered, waving at him. I looked in that direction and saw my King walking over to us. He held a Poke Ball in hand and held it up so we could see it.

"I wonder what he caught," Emerald murmured. I shrugged. Then my X-transceiver rang. I looked at it and saw it was one of the grunts at the castle. I picked up and greeted the guy on the line.

"Hey Jonathon. What's up?" I asked. Emerald pulled the X-transceiver towards her to see who it was. I made a face.

"Emerald!" He exclaimed.

"_Baka!" _She snarled. She shoved it back towards me with a look of disgust on her face. I looked at the screen to see my co-worker looking frightened. No one in Plasma has ever seen Emerald angry before. It got me to wondering what happened between them.

Emerald waved it off and went over to talk to N.

"Hey, was that seriously Emerald?" Jonathon asked. I nodded.

"The one and only. Why? What happened between you two?" I asked curiously. His eyes widened slightly and he looked panicky.

"What, that? Nothing! Nothing happened! Hah, no, nope, nothing at all!" He laughed nervously. I rolled my eyes but decided not to press the subject further.

"So, why'd you call?" I asked. He nodded.

"Right, right. You'd better get back here quick. Ghetsis is angry..." He talked off. I grimaced; I was always the one Ghetsis went to when something was not going according to plan.

"Mhm. I'll be there soon. See ya." I ended the call and sighed. Emerald looked over her shoulder at me.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Ghetsis." She rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Of course it's Father," she muttered, applying pressure to her right temple.

"Father?!" I took a step back, eyeing her.

"What, that? It's a term of respect for males who rank above you in Nuvema. I forgot. Sorry." She said with an apologetic smile. I would have believed her too but the fearful look in her eye when I questioned her gave her away.

"Anyways, you probably have to go, being Ghetsis' right hand man and all." She said with ahint of sarcasm. I felt a small smile creep into my face; she was an odd one all right.

"Stay safe." Her eyes softened.

"You too." With a wave and a wink from Emerald, they headed off for Route 3.

* * *

**Me: I totally could have done it, you know!**

**Emerald: Of course you could've. *sarcasm dripping from her voice***

**Me: *huff* I could have chosen to embarrass you _soooooooooo _many times!**

**Emerald: *eye roll* Mhm.**

**Me: *sigh* Review please.**


	7. Chapter 7: Long Overdue

**Me (pokeninja6600): Hi everyone! So, chapter seven! Also, some shameless self-advertisement! I have a new account with which I write for Fairy Tail, a new anime series I'm really into right now! I go by shadowninja2000 and I have a collab with DitDitto on that account! So, if you could go check that out (after you read and review this, of course!)**

**Emerald: *grins* Have fun, everyone! If I'm not mistaken, this is back in my POV so we'll get to have some more Emerald time!**

**Me: That's right! Read and review!**

* * *

**Emerald's POV**

I shaded my eyes to look farther ahead in the distance. I saw a shiny building in the distance and I squinted to make it out. I nodded. It was the Pokemon Daycare. Interesting.

"What's that?" N asked, pointing towards the Daycare. I smacked his arm and he recoiled, pulling that arm to his chest.

"Ouch! What?"

"It's not nice to point, N. I'm supposed to be helping with your manners as well; consider yourself lucky I don't get on you about every little thing. I certainly could." I answered casually, walking ahead to the Daycare.

"Well, you don't have to be so mean..." N pouted, catching up to me with ease. I chuckled.

"Do you think I'm mean, N?" I asked, looking at him with a humorous sparkle in my eye. He thought for a moment.

"Not as a general statement, no. But I do when you do things like that." He replied. I nodded.

"Good. Then I'm doing my job." N's jaw dropped.

"That's not fai-" He started.

"That's called the Daycare, N. Some Trainers don't have time to raise a Pokemon so they give it to the people that work here. For a fee, these people will raise your Pokemon for you. For instance, if I didn't want to raise Lillia by myself or I wasn't able to, I could drop her off and come back later to pick her up and she'd be a higher level than she was when I dropped her off." I explained.

"Drop off your Pokemon to have someone else take care of them for you until they're strong enough for your liking." He said darkly, the muscles in his jaw tensing. I stayed silent.

I could allow him to keep stewing, which is what Ghetsis would want and would be best for Team Plasma. I could also tell him what I'd found out about the place while I was scouting it: how it was originally a Daycare for human children, how the preschool was built right next to it and the owners, an old married couple, turned it into a place that took care of the little kids' Pokemon while they were in school. I could tell him how good the Pokemon were treated by the old couple and how they knew every Pokemon that had passed through their Daycare by name. I bit my lip. What to do, what to do...

"Ya'know, this place was originally a preschool for little kids." N looked at me, surprised that I'd spoken. I nodded slowly. I walked up to the preschool with N trailing silently behind. I ran my fingers across the brick surface solemnly.

"The owners, an old married couple that love Pokemon and kids, transformed it into a place to take care of the kids' Pokemon while they were in school. The Pokemon are treated extremely well; I'd spoken to the man before and he says he's never forgot the name of any Pokemon that passed through his Daycare." I murmured. N mumbled something and I didn't catch it but I assumed it was something along the lines of how this was still wrong.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! That's trespassing, you know!" I heard a male voice approach me. I ignored him, sinking into my memories of this place.

_I landed lightly on my feet. I turned back to the pilot, saluted and dashed off into the night. It was the dead of the night. I dashed through the tall grass, trying to avoid any Pokemon, only having my little Tepig. I could hear every breath I took, every noise that the grass made as I ran through it, the almost silent scratching sound my Trainer's belt made as my legs moved positions and it didn't adapt quick enough to the new position. I made it successfully through the tall grass without any Pokemon appearing. I slowed down, thinking I was safe._

_Then, dazzling light. Heat, incredibly searing heat. Thunder echoed all around me. I instinctively covered my face with my arms and cried out as powerful hooves beat me to the ground. I squeezed my eyes shut as I twisted my body so my face would be on the ground. I smelled burning grass and heard a deafening screech. Tears ran down my face as the hooves hit my body again and again. I heard another screech and then I blacked out._

_I woke up to a lot of concerned faces surrounding me. My initial instinct was panic as they probably assumed I was a Plasmanite. But I realized slowly that they were all little kids. I tried to sit up and cried out, a hand flying to my head to apply pressure to the pain. I felt wet fabric and pressed around a bit. It was a cloth, a bandage. I looked at my fingers; they were stained red with my blood. I grimaced and felt a small hand on my shoulder._

_"Miss? Miss, are you okay?"_

"Hellloooo? Miss, are you okay?" I blinked and looked at what I expected to be a child's face. It was a man's; I think I recognized him.

My hand went subconsciously to my head. Wet? WET! But no wet bandage. I looked at my fingers numbly, not quite registering the blood on my hand. N? Where was N? My head snapped up, my eyes flicking around, looking for my half brother. I located him and breathed a sigh of relief; N was okay, everyone was okay. The man helped me up.

"Thanks. Um, what happened?" I asked, looking at the man. He shook his head.

"I'm not really sure myself. You were running your fingers along the walls so I called out to you and then you staggered away from the building and tripped, bumping your head on the fence. That weird kid, N, helped me carry you inside and here we are." He smiled and extended his hand.

"Slash's my name." He said. I shook his hand.

"I'm Emerald. Your name rings a bell..." I said, focusing on his face. I repeated the name over and over in my head. Slash...Slash..._Slash..._

_"Slaaash! Come back! Stop running!" I shouted. I heard him laugh. "Come and catch me, _

_"_E-Emerald?" He asked, backing away a little bit.

_"Emerald! Where are you going? Come back!" He called. I didn't even look behind me. I hated to leave, as I had grown so close to the people here. Slash especially. I couldn't begin to count the number of times I'd ruffled up that spiked brown hair of his, couldn't begin to count the number of times he'd threatened to cut my hair if I touched his one more time, couldn't begin to count the times I'd touch it anyways. I trusted them. _

_But they trusted me. And I couldn't hurt them any more than I had to. With tears running silently down my face, I ran_ _away from the Daycare, the place that had nurtured me for almost half a year now. Ghetsis would be expecting a full report. One I just couldn't give him. I used my running time to think about what I was going to do._

_He caught up to me at the pond. I'd sat down and he sat next to me. I tried to hide the fact that I'd been crying but he saw it anyways. We talked for a while then sat in silence a little while longer. I confessed my status as one of Team Plasma. He was disgusted at first. But he came to accept it before the night was over. I started to get up and he did too. We stood facing each other. __Our eyes met, green and red. He pulled me into a hug, which I returned._

"Is...Is it really you?"

_"I'm gonna miss you, Emerald." He tried to be strong but I could hear the tremble in his voice, feel him shaking. I closed my eyes and rested my head on his shoulder._

_"I'm going to miss you too, Slash." He pulled away and looked at me._

_"This...This is not goodbye. We'll meet up again." He insisted, a grip on my arms._

_"Slash..." I started. He shook his head._

_"Go. I'll wait for you. Just make sure to come back." He whispered. With that, he let go of my arms. As he walked away, I called out to him._

_"You just make sure you wait for me! I'll be back!"_

"I told you I'd come back." I said. His face broke into a wide grin, tears streaking his dusty face as he pulled me into a tight hug. I felt a hot rush of tears and hugged him back. Long, long overdue.

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**Me: AAAAAND FINISHED! Review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Slash

**Me (pokeninja6600): :'D I have reviewers! More than two! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!**

**Emerald: It doesn't take much to make you happy, does it...**

**Me: Not when it comes to this story, nope!**

**Emerald: What's that supposed to mean?!**

**Me: My first single adventure fic...I didn't think people would read it...**

**Emerald: -_- Prime example of low self-esteem right there ^ Anyways, since you have reviewers now-**

**Me: I DO! *cries happily***

**Emerald: *leans away from me* You should probably start the story, so we don't lose them...**

**Me: RIGHT! *types away furiously***

**Emerald: *facepalm* Just...You know the drill...**

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**Emerald's POV**

After a couple hours of reunion time, it was dark out. I had made sure to introduce N as my half brother and with as little information as possible. Luckily, most of the Nursery Aides had been sent out on jobs and wouldn't return until the next day and so we were surrounded mostly by little kids. They all got along great with N and they all loved our Pokemon, especially our Zoruas and Feu.

_"This is not what I had imagined when N said 'out of our comfort zones', Emerald." _N's Zorua whined. Right at that moment, my baby girl tackled him so he was forced to shut up and mess around with her. I smiled; it really was nice to see everyone again. I didn't know any of the little ones but I had taken care of some of the people that were now Aides for both the Daycare and the preschool. I kept a careful eye trained on N though.

He was basically a child stuck in a teenager's body and that worried me because he was so much bigger than all the little ones. The little kids weren't intimidated by N's size and he played nicely with them (although he seemed a little awkward at first) and once the kids brought in some of their Pokemon, he was delighted to play with them. I was sitting at a table, trying and succeeding to avoid all the attention everyone seemed to want to lather upon me. I sat my elbows on the table and cupped my chin in my palms.

I felt someone come and sit next to me. I turned my head a bit to see chestnut spikes and green eyes, emphasized by a smile on his face. I looked back to the little ones, who were now fawning over not just N's and my Pokemon, but their own as well. I cringed; Ghetsis would have my head if he knew I was letting N experience such a strong human-Pokemon bond.

"What's wrong? You seem deep in thought. It's not like you." I heard a joking tone in his voice and rolled my eyes.

"Just because I actually have a brain, Slash." I replied. He scoffed.

"I kept this place up while you were gone, y'know. I think I deserve some credit!" He insisted. I dropped my arms and looked over at him.

"Do you now?" He nodded seriously, reminding me slightly of Matt. I let a smile play at the corners of my mouth. They were actually kind of alike but I got a feeling they wouldn't get along too well. The thought made made me chuckle. Yes, I could definitely see Slash and Matt fighting for the simplest of reasons, just like brothers.

"What's goin' on in that head of yours?" Slash asked, rapping lightly on my skull.

"Just comparing you to a co-worker." He made a face.

"Why?"

"You two are actually a lot alike." He looked vaguely interested.

"Really? He's smart and handsome too?" Slash asked with a joking smile. I rolled my eyes.

"Weeeeeell...He's smart when he wants to be. Makes some dumbass choices, but still." I said, turning my attention to the table and fiddling around with the edge of my bandanna.

"Seems like you think a lot of him." Slash commented. I shrugged.

"He's one of my better friends." Slash gasped.

"Emerald Jadia Star! Has! Friends!" He said sarcastically, mocking my dislike of people. I made a face and punched him. He leaned away from me to try and avoid it but I got him anyways.

"Touchy, touchy, Em." He taunted with a grin. I ignored him. I felt his fingers dance across my neck as he untied my bandanna. He got it off successfully and messed around with it. I gave him an odd look. This time, he ignored me, continuing to play with my bandanna. I contemplated taking it back.

"I liked you better without the bandanna, y'know." He commented quietly, not looking at me.

"Really?"

"Yeah. Got to see more of your face." He looked at me with a small smile.

"I do like this though," He said, twirling some of my hair around his finger thoughtfully. I stayed silent, waiting for him to continue.

"Long hair looks good on you." I scoffed at the fact he could say that with a straight face. "No seriously, you look beautiful, Em!" He protested. I blushed.

"B-beautiful, Slash?" He nodded seriously, his eyes meeting mine.

"Mhm." His thumb brushed across my cheek and he dropped his gaze. I ran my fingers through the hair that framed the right side of my face absentmindedly. He'd never done that before. I looked at my bandanna but didn't reach for it. Slash had laid it out flat on the table and was running his fingers across its surface. I chewed on my tongue.

"It's really been too long, Emerald. Three years is too long for me." I looked at Slash, surprised. He nodded solemnly. His eyes flicked up to meet mine and he grabbed my arm.

"You'll come back, right? After you leave this time?" He asked, a bit of desperation in his voice. I bit my lower lip uncertainly and looked away.

"Slash-"

"Promise me!" He cut me off, squeezing my arm so I would look at him. There was a pain in his eyes and it broke my heart.

"It's not really my decision." I began. Then I looked at him, the crestfallen expression on his face, and sighed.

"But I'll come back again as soon as possible." I finished softly. His eyes danced with hope.

"P-promise?"

"Promise."

* * *

Later that night, after everyone else was asleep, Slash and I made a deal. To make sure I kept true to my promise, I would let him keep my bandanna until I next returned. But until then, he had to keep it as safe as he would a newborn child. He agreed. We got some sleep in separate rooms, the first time we'd ever slept in separate rooms while in the same place.

I couldn't sleep and tossed and turned before finally just laying on my back with my hands behind my head. N and I were to leave as soon as possible the following morning and travel to our original destination: Nacrene City Gym. I sighed and fiddled with Zorua's tail idly.

_"You need asleep if we're going to travel all the rest of the way to Nacrene tomorrow, Miss Emerald." _Tekina said telepathically. I turned my head to left and strained my eyes a little to see my pink Pokemon floating just a few feet from my head. I nodded and moved my head back to where I was facing the darkened ceiling.

"I know...It's just...I dunno, I can't." I murmured. The Dream Eater Pokemon made a sound of understanding.

_"Would you like some help?" _He asked. I raised an eyebrow at him but realized the gesture would be lost in the pitch black night.

"How?"

_"Hypnosis." _He replied shortly.

"Ohhh..." I contemplated it. I heard the effects of Hypnosis worked rather well on humans, a bit too well. But I trusted Tekina, even if we'd only just met.

"Do it." The last thing I remember was a swirl of pink, purples and light greens before I fell asleep.

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**Me: *facepalm* This chapter is really too short for my liking but I'm working on a couple of other stories right now and had to get that fluff out of my system before I stared on another chapter. That's really all I have to say about this little filler-ish chappie (I did sneak some fluff in there, if you squint a little XD). Emerald's asleep so Ima leave her be so I don't get murdered. Okay, Ima seriously stop talking now. BAAAIIII!**


	9. Chapter 9: Tepig Troll

**Me (you know who I am by now, don't you?): *reading something* Mhm...Mhm...Yeah...pffftthahaha yeah, I can totally see that happening! *chuckles and looks at readers* Oh! Hello! I didn't see you there!**

**Emerald: *eye roll* I told you they were there.**

**Me: I wasn't listening!**

**Emerald: *yawn* Clearly.**

**Me: ANYWHOOOOO, yeah, a new chapter for this story! ****So, you know the drill, read and review at the end!**

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**Feu's POV**

I woke up slowly, slowly. I opened my eyes and looked lazily at my surroundings, letting the past catch up to me before I woke up too much. I glanced around and saw Lillia stretched out across Emerald's side, still asleep. Zorua was sleeping peacefully on said Trainer's stomach. I looked around for our newest edition, Tekina. I didn't see him right away but I knew he must be somewhere, as the green haired siblings agreed to let us have free reign of wherever they stopped at night because we were stuffed inside those pesky Poke Balls all the time.

I looked beyond Emerald to N, who had his Pokemon out as well. His Zorua was in a near identical position to Emerald's, on his stomach. His Purrlion was asleep on a nearby windowsill, his tail swishing idly. His newest recruit, a Tympole, had decided he liked the Poke Ball better and slept in there. But as my gaze drifted to the boy's head, I startled. Tekina had taken up residence on N's head!

_"Tekina? You awake?"_ I asked, walking over to him. The Munna opened one eye to look at me blearily.

_"I am now." _He responded thickly, not quite awake yet.

_"What're you doing on N's head?" _I asked curiously.

_"...If you must know, his dreams are tasty. Is there there a problem, bacon strip?" _Tekina asked, using a nickname that I actually got a lotfrom a sleep-deprived Trainer. I shook my head.

_"Not at all, my pink floaty. Just wondering. Emerald said we were leaving at the crack of dawn. It's almost nine in the morning."_ I reminded him.

_"Is it? Oh. I remember now. She instructed me to wake her up. Ah, well, it can't be helped. Better late than never, eh?" _The pink Pokemon answered sheepishly. Tekina unattached himself from N's head and floated over to Emerald's. He used Dream Eater. At first, I didn't think it worked because Emerald just groaned and squinted her still-closed eyes, rolling her head to the left.

_"C'mon Mistress, wakey waaakeeey..." _ The Dream Eater Pokemon murmured. Then, surprising me, Emerald's eyes fluttered open. She turned her head to look at me.

"Hey Feu," she slurred sleepily. I chuckled; she wasn't quite awake yet so her speech slurred big time.

_"Good morning." _I commented, amused.

_"Good morning, Mistress. Did you sleep well?" _Tekina asked, all formality in hopes Emerald wouldn't be overly mad at him for her over sleeping.

"Huh?" She took a moment to register we had been talking to her, blinking slowly. Then she nodded. "Yeah, I slept well. Thanks." She lifted Zorua lightly off her stomach then proceeded to sit up. She stretched and yawned, causing her long emerald hair to fall every which way. One piece fell in between her eyes. She crossed her eyes to look at it, causing Tekina and I to start laughing. She focused back on us and smiled, giving her normally sharp features a very gentle, almost motherly tone.

"Thought you said the break of dawn, Em. Decide to stay with me?" A male's voice commented with a note of humor. The brunette boy crouched down next to Emerald's and gave her a hopeful smile. To his dismay, she shook her head.

"Guess I over slept," She said through a yawn. She ruffled up Zorua's fur playfully. The boy chuckled as Zorua opened one eye to look at Emerald with a huff. Zorua stood up, circled around and laid right back down, tucking her nose under her tail unhappily. The brunette boy gave Emerald a hand in getting up; I'm guessing he knew how bad her balance was in the mornings. She accepted gratefully, standing up so shakily she had to grab the boy's shoulder for support. When she felt she could stand, she let go and arched her back, stretching out her spine and exposing more of her chest than she would have if she'd been fully awake and aware. The boy noticed this and couldn't quite keep his eyes on her face.

Tekina and I looked at each other, both of us having a hard time containing our laughter at his reaction. Our unrelenting snickering got Emerald's attention. She raised an eyebrow.

"What's so funny?" Which caused us to bust up laughing. She looked unamused. Emerald glanced at the brunette boy (who had color brushed across his cheeks) inquiringly. He shrugged, pretending he had no idea of what we were laughing over. Her eyes narrowed and Tekina informed me that she said we'd talk about it later and to try and wake up N. I nodded, snorting out embers.

We walked (or floated, in Tekina's case) over to the green haired teen. Tekina and I went about waking up his Zorua first. Tekina used Psychic to float him over to a table so he wouldn't hurt anyone when we woke him. We looked at each other and I chuckled.

_"Feu, use Ember!"_ I said. Then, having received the command (from myself) I snorted red-hot embers out of my nose. Zorua jumped ten feet in the air with a yelp. By this time, Tekina and I were laughing our heads off. What we didn't notice was, when Zorua had jumped...He'd landed right on...

...Emerald's head.

"Feu. Tekina." We stopped laughing immediately. Emerald's voice was dangerously emotionless. We gulped and turned around to face her. Her arms were crossed and her eyes narrowed, glaring at us. If looks could kill, Tekina and I would be dead right then, several times over.

_"Y-yes, Mistress?" _ We both squeaked. She detached a clawing Zorua from her hair and held him at an arm's length by the scruff of the neck. She raised an eyebrow at us.

"Would you like to explain why I found a sleepy demon in my hair?" She asked, her tone a forced calm. We shook our heads vehemently. She made a sound in her throat that likened to a growl.

_"HE DID IT!" _ We shouted, blaming each other. Emerald rolled her eyes.

"I thought I asked you to wake up N, not this little demon." She said, sounding a bit like an irritated parent. Tekina and I nodded and woke up N.

**TIME SKIP: About an hour LATER**

"Feu, in or out?" Emerald asked, turning to me. Tekina was resting on her head, almost like a hat. I glanced at the Poke Ball she held out to me. I considered it. She rolled the red and white Ball towards me, just in case I wanted in. I shook my head and rolled it back towards her.

_"I need the exercise." _I said with a Tepig smile. She smiled at me gently and picked up her baby Zorua. In the past hour, N and Emerald had let us all out for a little exercise in the Daycare yard, playing along with us in some of our stupid games like Tag or Hide-and-Seek. As much as N is pretty much Pokemon-devoted 24/7, for as long as I can remember her as my Mistress, Emerald always sets aside at least an hour each day to mess around with us and do what we want to do, whether that be play games or nap or just talk.

"Okay, I think that's the last of them. C'mon N, let's hit the road. We've got to get to Nacrene quickly; Ghetsis is expecting me there for your tutoring and 've got a meeting with some of the Sages." Emerald said, rubbing a certain spot above her eyebrow where she gets migranes. The green haired King looked up at her. With a sigh, he stood, brushed off his pants and we all headed out.

"I don't _like_ tutoring..." He whined. Emerald nodded.

"I know how you feel. These Sage meetings are torture. They say absolutely nothing that involves me whatsoever." She said boredly. I walked alongside my Mistress, gnawing on the piece of Charcoal she'd just obtained and given to me. Zorua was walking beside me and N's Zorua was on his Master's shoulder.

_"Hey Zorua." _I said. They both looked at me. Then at each other. Then at me. Then,

_"Which one?" _They asked simultaneously. I sniggered, going on a trolling spree until we reached the city. It went a little like this:

Me: Hey Zorua.

Both: What? *turn to face me*

Me: *snigger and looks at Tekina*

Tekina: *wait five minutes* Hey Zorua

Both: What?

Tekina: *snigger and looks at me*

Me: *wait five minutes* Hey Zorua!

Until finally we reached the city. By that time it was midafternoon and both Zoruas had threatened me with a Shadow Claw to the face if I didn't SHUT UP. I kept trolling. Once we reached the city gates I said it once more.

_"Hey Zorua. I seriously have something this time." _They both glared at me.

_"I'll be really sad when one of you evolves." _Emerald's Zorua gave me a weird look. I nodded seriously.

_"Because then I can't troll you anymore!" _I laughed.

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**Me: *derp face* All de trolling bacon strips.**

**Emerald: So YOU'RE the one that started that?! *glare**glare**glare***

**Me: *trollface* *dashes off* TROOOOOOOLLLLLLLL**


End file.
